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The Junk Food Generation - A Multi-Country Survey of The Influence of Television Advertisements On Children PDF
The Junk Food Generation - A Multi-Country Survey of The Influence of Television Advertisements On Children PDF
Food
Generation
A multi-country survey
of the influence of
television advertisements
on children
ZZ
Acknowledgement
This report is part of Consumers Internationals Food
Security and Safety programme which is supported
by the Community Fund (UK), the Netherlands
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Evangelischer
Entwicklungsdienst (Germany).
This report was written by Dr. Alice Escalante de
Cruz, Stephanie Phillips, Mieke Visch and Diane
Bulan Saunders.
The views contained in this report should not be seen
as the definitive position of Consumers International
or that of the funding partners.
ISBN 983-41805-0-0
Copyright Consumers International 2004
Published by :
Consumers International
Asia Pacific Office
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM,
7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: (603) 7726 1599
Fax: (603) 7726 8599
Email: consint@ciroap.org
Websites:
www.consumersinternational.org/roap
www.ciroap.org/apcl
www.ciroap.org/ce
Printed at :
City Reprographic Services
No. 2, Jalan Vivekananda
Brickfields
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: 6032274 2276
Fax: 6032272 5851
4 YY
Contents
Preface
Executive summary
I.
II.
10
13
16
V.
20
LIST OF TABLES
1.
2.
10
3.
11
4.
15
5.
17
6.
20
7.
21
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Preface
There has been in both developed and developing
countries a substantial increase in advertising of
foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Much of this targets
young children. Correspondingly, there is a
disturbingly rapid increase in the incidence of
childhood obesity.
As worries about this new pandemic sharpen, so
does the search for ways of changing consumer
behaviour. Television, or more precisely television
food advertising, has been singled out as the most
easily modifiable influential factor on diet.
Consumer organisations recognise that advertising
can be a useful source of information to consumers.
However, advertising is not an impartial source of
information since its essential aim is to persuade
rather than inform.
Advertising is an immensely potent tool, which can
sway the judgement of even the most clued-up
consumer. It has the power to reinvent the familiar
and make the unfamiliar trustworthy. It preys on the
human need to belong and lures people into buying
into a lifestyle, an identity. Children are especially
vulnerable to advertising because they are less able
than adults to fully understand its persuasive
techniques and to therefore judge it critically.
Advertising regulations and guidelines at both the
national and international levels seek to prohibit the
exploitation of childrens credulity, lack of experience
or sense of loyalty and to protect them from high
pressure selling. Many countries have introduced
restrictions on the marketing of tobacco and alcohol
with respect to children. Yet, food advertising,
despite its relationship to child health and nutrition,
has received little attention at the regulatory level.
However, before formulating intervention strategies,
it is important to understand the forces driving
consumer behaviour and the link between
advertising, knowledge and behaviour.
This report outlines the major findings from studies
conducted on the influence of televised food ads on
children, drawing primarily upon the results from a
survey conducted by Consumers International Asia
Pacific Office in six Asian countries - India,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines and
South Korea.
6 YY
Executive Summary
This report outlines the findings of research
conducted by Consumers International Asia Pacific
Office and CI member organisations and partners on
food advertising directed at children in six countries
in the Asia-Pacific region (India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Pakistan, Philippines and South Korea).
The report draws on evidence from other studies
largely performed in Western countries. The
recommendations are based on those previously put
forward by Consumers International (CI) in other
countries. The report highlights the shared concerns
of consumer organisations in the participating
countries on the impact of such advertising, its
insufficient regulation and the need for greater
consumer education.
Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39392000/jpg/
_39392081_fat_boy300.jpg
Food advertisement
Pester power
Nutrition knowledge
Current legislation
Source: http://www.caresnackages.com/images/junk_lg.jpg
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8 YY
Endnotes:
For every US$1 the WHO spends on trying to
improve the nutrition of the worlds population,
US$500 is spent by the food industry on promoting
processed foods. The world food-industryadvertising budget was estimated at US$40 billion in
2001.10 The chart below indicates the big spenders
of television advertising in the UK for 2003.
Ibid.
10
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10 YY
Parents
India
10
03
Indonesia
16
12
Malaysia
30
11
Pakistan
02
Philippines
18
10
S. Korea
10
03
Minutes of advertising
per hour
India
15
Indonesia
15
Malaysia
20
Pakistan
6-9
Philippines
20
South Korea
EU recommendation
12
Food advertising
The commercialisation of childrens television is one
of several concerns raised by child health
professionals regarding the impact of television on
childrens well-being. Our survey revealed that while
in South Korea food advertisements made up only
25 per cent of all advertising during childrens
programmes, in India 40-50 per cent of childrens
advertisements were about food. In Pakistan and the
Philippines it varied between 50 and 75 per cent, and
in Malaysia food advertisements made up 70 per cent
of all advertising during childrens television
programmes. Foods dominate childrens advertising,
and a recent report indicates that the diet advertised
to children contrasts strongly with the nationally
recommended diet.17 The overwhelming majority of
food advertising aimed at children is for foods and
beverages high in sugars, fat and/or salt.
Food advertising has long been proposed as a
candidate for the association between body fat
(adiposity) and television viewing. In the
Philippines, McDonalds, Jollibee and Nestle are the
biggest sponsors of food advertisements. The most
frequently advertised products were all low in
nutritive value - from cheese spreads (Cheez Whiz)
and Kraft Eden Cheese, to various fast food chains
and confectionery such as Chocko-Chocko and YumYum wafer sticks. Other products included instant
noodles and cereals high in added sugar such as
Koko Krunch. In India, Coca Cola, Pepsi Co,
Britannia and Parle join Nestle as the major sponsors
of food advertisements, promoting soft drinks,
biscuits and other confectionery. Our survey also
probed parents and children about which
advertisements they found the most memorable. This
form of advertisement recall revealed the extent of
food advertising for energy-dense micronutrientpoor junk food. Across all six countries, soft drink,
fast food and chocolate commercials ranked high,
ZZ
11
12 YY
Endnotes:
11
12
17
John
Michael
Yanson
Source: http://www.junkfoodnews.com/brotherbear.jpg
Source: www.newdream.org/campaign/kids/facts.html
Source:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep00/images/advertising.jpg
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13
14 YY
Source: http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/
children.html
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Pakistan
Philippines
South Korea
Advertisements update
about new products
86
91
68
77
84
91
57
35
42
78
59
64
Love watching TV
advertisements
62
61
33
73
68
62
Advertisements create
artificial need
49
31
36
47
40
51
44
75
38
65
75
45
Advertisements increase
the cost of the product
59
51
51
66
48
68
Endnotes:
20
Source: http://www.svcn.com/archives/cupertinocourier/
02.27.02/gifs/cover-top-0209.jpg
24
21
22
27
Ibid
28
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15
Marketing techniques
Multinational and domestic food companies, which
promote energy-dense and low-nutrient foods and
drink use highly effective marketing techniques to
encourage regular consumption, repeat purchases
and brand loyalty especially amongst children.
Familiar examples of such marketing include the use
of collectable toys, games and contests, advertising
and packaging featuring cartoon characters, food
shaped and coloured to be especially appealing to
children, and the use of television advertising and
catchy jingles. One of Burger Kings most effective
strategies is to offer free toys with its childrens
meals. In 1999 Burger King endorsed a Telletubbies
Burger King promotion which featured 50,000,000
Telletubbies dolls. The promotion doubled sales of
Burger Kings Kids Club Meals in the US.31 Soft drink
and fast food companies also focus their attention
(and advertising budgets) on the teenage market,
through linkups with the most attractive and popular
movie stars, pop singers and sports celebrities. Pepsi
has just teamed up with Beyonce Knowles, Pink and
Britney Spears32 and McDonalds latest Im lovin
it campaign had Justin Timberlake singing along to
the chorus. Executives close to McDonalds estimate
the Timberlake deal to be worth nearly US$6 million.
Mr. Light, McDonalds global chief marketing officer
explained that Justin Timberlake is absolutely
connected to todays consumer attitudes and trends.
His cultural relevance is right in tune with
McDonalds new direction.33 Recently, McDonalds
signed on pro- basketball star Yao Ming to a
multiyear endorsement deal. The deal was aimed at
expanding McDonalds global reach (especially the
China market) and to counter negative publicity.34 So
powerful is the marketing impact of link-ups with
childrens television characters and movies that some
advertisements for McDonalds do not mention the
food at all. They show only the toy available in the
latest collecting offer.35
16 YY
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Pakistan
Philippines
South Korea
Self
75
75
53
76
93
79
37
42
41
72
49
44
Children
51
58
52
65
66
25
Advertisement
33
29
33
44
23
24
33
Experts Advice
10
12
ZZ
17
18 YY
Source: www.nestle.com.my
Endnotes:
30
Ibid.
32
33
38
39
41
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19
Source:
http://www.oneworld.net/penguin/pollution/junk_food.gif
Self-regulation?
Self-regulation is the process whereby commercial
food marketers participate in and are responsible for
their own regulation. A prime example is the
International Code of Advertising Practice, issued by
the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The
guidelines state that:
Reprimand
Public
apology
Withdrawal
of ad
Fine
Imprisonment
Suspension
and retraction
of licence
India
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Indonesia
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Malaysia
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Pakistan
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Philippines
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
South Korea
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
20 YY
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Pakistan
Philippines
S. Korea
72
63
54
92
54
41
66
66
53
98
78
28
Recommendations
1) Restrict advertising for young children under
the age of 12
This portion of the population is exceptionally
vulnerable to being manipulated by advertisements.
For this reason, Sweden bans advertising for children
under 12 years, arguing that if children are not fully
aware of the purpose of advertising and do not have
the ability to question it critically, advertising should
not be addressed to them. Similar policies have also
been implemented in Australia, Canada and the UK.
2) Reduce the number of junk food ads during
childrens programming
Food habits are formed at a young age and are
difficult to change. For this reason, repetitive
exposure to adverts encouraging overeating, large
portions, and the consumption of foods high in
sugar, salt and saturated fat need to be cut down. The
vast majority of parents in all six countries of our
survey recommended that the sheer quantity of
advertising be reduced apart from in South Korea,
where the number is already low. In Pakistan 71 per
cent of parents were of the opinion that there should
be no advertisements five minutes before, after and
during childrens television programmes.
South Korean legislation limits its advertisement
ratio to 10 per cent of programme time and imposes
a maximum limit of 30 seconds per advertisement.
The EU proposes a maximum limit of 12 minutes of
advertising per hour of programming. The
Broadcasting Commission of Ireland recommends
that advertising as a whole and not just individual
advertisements should be monitored and further,
that the amount of advertising to children, by types
or category of food advertised, should be regulated.
3) Identification and separation of advertising
Given the ambiguity surrounding the ability of
children to comprehend the nature and purpose of
advertising, there is a critical need for advertising to
be clearly distinguishable from other programme
content. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, in
its draft Childrens Advertising Code, has required
broadcasters to alert children when a commercial
break is beginning and ending.44
ZZ
21
select foods that are safe to eat; and enjoy your food.
Most of the guidelines are general and are food,
rather than nutrition-based, with the exception of
Singapores, which are quantitative and nutrientspecific. Some include advice on frequency of
consumption or recommend specific amounts of
different foods. Most guidelines stress increased
intakes of fruits, vegetables, cereal, and dairy food
to promote fibre, vitamin, and mineral intakes. The
guidelines for more affluent Asian countries, such as
Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Japan (and also for
more affluent members of the population in
Indonesia and India), emphasise moderation in fat,
saturated fat, and/or simple sugars. These
guidelines should be promoted wherever possible,
from packaging to television advertisements.
Malaysian radio has already taken steps towards
this, periodically broadcasting nutrition advice.
8) Sponsorship
Endnotes:
44
National
dietary
guidelines
include
recommendations to choose a diet composed of a
wide variety of foods; eat enough food to meet
bodily needs and maintain or improve body weight;
22 YY
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Tel: +44(0) 207226 6663
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E-mail: consint@consint.org
www.consumersinternational.org
www.consumersinternational.org/roap/food
ZZ
23